The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-11-24

ual labors in every way and finally the
system was abandoned. In 1887 he was
sent to the manual labor school at David.
son, where the students we're required tc
work three hours daily, as they are said
to do at the Mississippi Agricultural
College. The same disposition was man.
ifested by the students there, and manual
labor was soon abandoned by the trustees
as being wholly incompatible with
student life. The same experiment was
tried by Furman University, with like
results. The school at Cokesbury was
turned ever into the hands of the South
Carolina Methodist Conference as a
manual labor institution. Jos Travis
and Stephen Olin, two of the very ablest
men of the Conference, were successively
placed in charge of it. But notwith.
standing it was backed by the whole
influence and power of the Methodist
Church of South Carolina, the manual
labor system proved en- utter failure, and
it was given up. About the same time
John G. Calhoun, Col. Ben Sloan and
Gen. Bee we're infatuated with the idea,
and established a similar school at Pen.
dleton, under Mr.. Kennedy, an eminent
teacher and disciplinarian. The manual
labor system proved TO be complete
failure, and nothing more of the kind
was heard in South Carolina until 1879,
when the Legislature converted tie old
South Carolina College into an sgricul-
tural college. The farmers gave no
encouragement to it as such, and the
trustees, in order to preserve the insti.
tuition, had it converted by an ACT of the
Legislature into the South Carolina
University, wherein are taught the diff
ferent courses that are taught in all
universities. One of these is course in
agriculture and mineralogy, and another
one in mechanical engineering In the
agricultural course all the studies under
lying agriculture which are taught in
Mississippi are taught there, 1928 hours
being spent in each session in teaching
it. In the same studies in Mississippi
only 1875 hours are spent, 1925 in the
Kansas Agricultural College, and 1903
in the Michigan College. In the branches
underlying the mechanical arts, 1923
hours are devoted to the same in the
South Carolina University, $50 in Mis-
sissippi, 513 in Kansas and 6S5 in Mich
igan. This clearly shows that in agricul-
ture and the mechanical arts there is
more teaching done in the agricultural
department of the South Carolina College
than in any one OF the only three
agricultural colleges that are claimed to
be successful, and instead of being
anaexes they are part and parcel of the
university course. The only difference
is that the students at Columbia have
the right to elect whether they will take
an agricultural course or not, while those
in the other agricultural colleges are
forced TO work, whether they wish to or
not. In the Mississippi College the
requirement for entering the preparatory
class is the ability only to read, write,
and knowledge of the four elementary
divisions of arithmetic. There are two
years in the elementary course and four
in the collegiate. Applicants for the
Freshman class must be thorough in
arithmetic, geography, grammar, reading,
writing, spelling, and United States his.
tory. These requirements arc a year
less than those of ordinary colleges.
The students are required to remain only
four years, and do not have to study or
recite during the afternoon, that part of
the day being devoted to military drills
and compulsory labor. The only agri-
cultural colleges that have heretofore
attracted large attendance have required
very little previous study, have low
curriculum, and system Of paid labor.
1t is impossible that students, knowing
SO little upon entering, should within
four years, devoting but half their time
to study, acquire anything like e decent
education. Shall the State, with its
University, possessing all the necessary
building, o first class labratory in every
department, library containing $4,000
volumes, with an able faculty, especially
in those department underlying agricul.
ture and the mechanical arts, the latter
of which is not taught in Mississippi, its
Citadel Academy in Charleston, with
FIVE denominational institutions we'll
equipped for educational work and their
professors distinguished in every depart
ment, attempt to build up another college
when it is admitted on all hands, even in
the report for 1SS4-S5, that only three
out of forty-seven colleges that were
instituted under the Act of 1863 can be
regarded as in any manner successful, to
wit: Michigan, Kansas and Mississippi,
these out of fourteen or fifteen that were
originally established as purely agricul-
tural? Have these been successful? In
the Kansas College, according to Prof.
Sanders, of Canada, a considerable por-
ton of its work is in the line Of prepare.
tory training, portion of which, in the
older States, would be required before
entering college. 1t is composed of boys
and girls and is, perhaps, a very good
preparatory school. In the Michigan
Agricultural College at first tract Of
land was given to each student, from
which he was required to support him
self while getting his education. This
was soon discussed out of existence.
The next idea was to have it purely
agricultural, as a theological seminary,
law, or medical school, with a two years
course and strictly professional. President